


Soft

by pcyjunguwudays



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: ChanKai, Cuddles, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, kaiyeol - Freeform, lame jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 12:26:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16095659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pcyjunguwudays/pseuds/pcyjunguwudays
Summary: In which Chanyeol is caught in a rather embarrassing situation and ends up making a dumb bet with his best friend Jongin.





	Soft

**Author's Note:**

> THIS FIC IS DEDICATED TO RAGS UWUUUUUU  
> RAGS, IF YOU'RE READING THIS I LOVE YOU LOTS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT WITH EVERYTHING!!!  
> On to the (badly-written) fic!

“Chanyeol hyung?” Jongin called, entering the apartment. He leaned down to take his shoes off, groaning in relief as his back cracked at the stretch. “Hyung?” he called again when there was no answer. Jongin picked his bag up again and wandered through the apartment into the kitchen. “Hyung?”

Jongin was starting to get worried. Chanyeol’s shoes were at the door, right next to Jongin’s but where was Chanyeol? Jongin glanced at the note on the fridge -  _ Pizza for dinner? Can’t be bothered to cook today  _ \- and rolled his eyes. “Chanyeol! Where the hell are you?”

“Jongin? Are you back already?” Chanyeol’s voice drifted through the apartment. “I’m in my room!”

“Shall I order pizza?” Jongin yelled back, taking off his suit jacket. 

“Yeah please!”

Jongin scrolled through his phone, looking for the contact for their regular place and dialled the number. He stood up again, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt as the phone rang once, twice, three times. “Hello?”

Hooking the jacket on his finger and over his shoulder, Jongin scrolled through the apartment towards Chanyeol’s room, placing their order. “Any sides, sir?” the man on the phone asked. 

“Uh, yeah, can we get - holy shit.” Jongin’s mouth dropped open as he entered the room to see Chanyeol standing shirtless in front of the mirror, frowning. 

“Sir? Is everything ok?”

“Um…” Jongin swallowed, trying hard not to laugh. Chanyeol turned around and immediately covered his face with his hands, the tips of his ears going red. “Can we get fries and garlic bread?” 

“Make it cheesy!” Chanyeol hissed through his hands, and Jongin fought back another wave of laughter.

“Make that cheesy garlic bread, actually.”

“Is that all, sir?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“The delivery should arrive in around an hour.”

Jongin cut the call and fully entered the room, a smile snatching at his lips. “What were you doing?”

“Nothing,” Chanyeol mumbled. “Have you ever heard of knocking?” Jongin hung his jacket up behind the door and grinned at Chanyeol.

“Didn’t look like nothing to me.” Chanyeol didn’t respond as Jongin started to get changed, stripping out of his work clothes and into a pair of Chanyeol’s shorts. “Were you...perhaps... _ admiring _ yourself?”

“Stop! I wasn’t!” Chanyeol complained feebly. “It wasn’t me! And I never said you could wear my clothes!”

Jongin started laughing properly at the childish excuse. “Well, if it wasn’t you who I saw drooling over your own muscles, then who was it? And you owe me for the time you stole my shirt. I’m too lazy to go to my room.”

“It...wasn’t me,” Chanyeol repeated, moving his hands away from his face and picking up his tank top from the bed. “And anyway, it’s not like you don’t do it too.”

“Do what?” Jongin asked innocently.

“Not like you don’t admire yourself as well.”

“Ah, so you admit that that’s what you were doing?”

“Kim Jongin, I hate you!” Chanyeol stomped his foot in frustration, folding his arms across his chest. 

“No you don’t, you love me.”

“Why would I love you?”

“Hmm…” Jongin pretended to think. “Because I’m smart. I’m good-looking. I give good advice. I can cook. I’m funny. And I’m a dog person.”

“You’re so full of yourself,” Chanyeol scoffed. “You’re dumb and ugly and don’t give good advice and you burnt water! And you’re not funny.”

“Ah, but I am a dog person, right?”

“Well obviously,” Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “But that doesn’t mean that you’re not dumb and ugly and all the above.”

“Do you remember how Baekhyun hyung once said that we’re the mirror images of each other?” Jongin asked Chanyeol, backing out of the room. Chanyeol followed him, nodding at Jongin’s words. “Well, if I’m dumb and ugly and unable to cook, then so are you.”

“I’m not ugly! Or dumb! And I can cook!”

“And how do you know you’re not ugly?”

“Because I literally just saw myself in the mirror!”

“Point proven!” Jongin declared, sitting down at the bench in the kitchen. 

“Don’t think I don’t have your number, Kim Jongin,” Chanyeol responded, this time staring right at the younger.

“Hyung...I know you do have my number…”

“It’s a figure of speech, you idiot,” Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “I caught you looking at your body in the mirror literally yesterday.”

“I couldn’t see the stubble clearly in the bathroom so I came into my room! I wasn’t admiring myself!”

“Jongin, you can go without shaving for an entire week and have barely more than a single hair on your baby face,” Chanyeol pointed out, staring at his best friend. “You shaved three days ago.”

Jongin flushed red at being caught. Chanyeol sniggered triumphantly. “Ok, so we’ve established that we’re both narcissistic bastards-”

“Speak for yourself!” Chanyeol exclaimed indignantly.

“We’re  _ both _ narcissistic bastards,” Jongin repeated, rolling his eyes. “But what exactly did we achieve from that?”

“Hmm.” Chanyeol stood up, filling a glass with water and downing half of it in one go. Jongin rolled his eyes at the water droplets that fell from his chin. “How about a bet?”

“What kind of bet?” Jongin perked up immediately.

“Since we both got caught...I mean...you know…” Chanyeol flushed suddenly, his heart beating faster. 

“Spit it out, Chanyeol.”

“Hyung to you,” Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “Um...ok,” he sighed. “How about...for a whole week, we can’t uh...look at ourselves in the mirror. Apart from shaving, that is,” he added hastily. “Apart from shaving, not even a single glance in the mirror, and no selfies, either. And loser has to…” Chanyeol swallowed. “Loserhastobethebigspoonforthewinner.”

The doorbell rang, and Chanyeol scampered out of the room, knocking over his water in the process, leaving Jongin sitting in a wet puddle of confusion. He slowly retraced Chanyeol’s words. “The loser has to be the big spoon for the winner? But...why?”

“Pizza’s here.” Chanyeol dumped the boxes and the package on the table and busied himself opening it all up, refusing to look at Jongin at all. “Eat.” He stood up to grab a rag to wipe up the mess he’d created with the spilled water.

“Why?” Jongin asked, grabbing a piece of cheesy garlic bread as Chanyeol sat down. 

“Why what?” Chanyeol mumbled, stuffing his mouth with the pizza.

“Why cuddles?”

Chanyeol choked on said bite. Jongin choked too, but from laughing at Chanyeol. “Because...I mean, we don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, it’s a bad idea anyway, I don’t know what I was thinking, let’s just not do it, I’m gonna take this pizza to my room if that’s ok-”

“Yeol, I never said no,” Jongin rolled his eyes, tugging on Chanyeol’s sleeve. “Sit down.” 

“So...what did you mean?” Chanyeol asked, taking another, smaller bite, but still looking anywhere except at Jongin. 

“I just want to know why cuddling specifically,” Jongin asked calmly, trying to hide his inner turmoil. 

“Because...well...I like cuddling.” 

“But we’re bros.”

“Maybe I wanna cuddle you.” Jongin pouted a little, his eyes widening in surprise, and Chanyeol felt his heart zoom a little. “That’s cute,” he blurted out. 

“U-uwu.” Jongin blushed.

Chanyeol spat out his coke, laughing. “Did you just ‘uwu’ out loud?!” he wheezed, slamming his hand weakly on the counter. Jongin couldn’t help but laugh as well, dissolving the awkward atmosphere that had surrounded the two of them for the last ten minutes. 

“It was a reflex! Plus you just confessed to me!” he protested.

“I didn’t confess, I just said that I want to cuddle with you,” Chanyeol pointed out. “And...that was thinking out loud.”

“You still said you wanna cuddle me,” Jongin rolled his eyes, grinning. “So. Anyway.”

“The bet. Do we have a deal?” 

“I bet you’re gonna lose. I’m ready to be encased in those oh-so-strong arms for a night,” Jongin pretended to swoon, and Chanyeol rolled his eyes. 

“You’re going down, Kim,” Chanyeol mock-threatened Jongin. “You’re gonna lose if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Nah, not possible,” Jongin retorted. “And guess what? Since you’re working from the office next week, I have more opportunities to catch you out.”

“The same goes for you too,” Chanyeol pointed out. “Have fun losing.” 

Jongin stuck out his tongue at Chanyeol, laughing as they shared a greasy handshake. 

**********

It took everything in Chanyeol to not strip off his shirt and stand in front of the mirror the next morning. He hadn’t slept well last night, his mind filled with thoughts of Jongin. He had confessed, he supposed. But it wasn't something he’d planned, at all, in fact. He wasn’t supposed to confess at all. The moment the words had slipped from his mouth, he’d regretted it. But at least Jongin hadn’t completely flipped him off over it. 

While he knew that Jongin didn’t like him back in the way that he liked Jongin, he was sure of one thing. Chanyeol would win this bet if it was the last thing he did. Because that was the only way that he’d be able to lay in Jongin’s arms, even if it was just once. He had to win this bet. 

**********

Jongin laid awake for a long time that night, tossing and turning. His mind was racing, but at every corner, it came back to one thing: Chanyeol. Chanyeol was the only thing on his mind. He had no idea that his best friend liked him back the way he liked him. It was...insane to think about. Jongin had assumed that love like that was something fictional, especially because Chanyeol hyung was his best friend. But it turned out that Chanyeol reciprocated his feelings. 

Jongin hadn’t exactly been the most receptive person to it, either. He realised that all he’d managed to do was sort of brush it off instead of acknowledging and responding to Chanyeol’s impromptu confession like any normal person would do. And that’s why Jongin was determined to win this bet. Because he’d finally be able to lie in Chanyeol’s arms the way he’d wanted to do for years, and this time, with a valid reason, albeit temporary. 

**********

The two managed to avoid each for the entire weekend. Their bet was starting on Monday, though unbeknownst to the other, both of them had self-enforced the mirror ban on themselves already. They each finished off work they’d been doing and cooked for themselves, staying largely to themselves. Come Monday morning, however, and they’d be back to their normal routine.

Chanyeol and Jongin worked for a large publishing company as editors. Chanyeol worked mainly from home, though he did venture into the office, while Jongin was based entirely at the office. They had reports to give in, and this entire week was a review week, which was why Chanyeol had to come in. 

They met at the front door at eight o’clock, looking anywhere but at each other. They hadn’t spoken a word to each for the last three days, making the atmosphere extremely awkward. “Shall I drive?” Jongin offered, and Chanyeol shook his head with jerky movements. 

“I c-can d-do it,” he stuttered, snatching up the keys and heading out. Jongin locked the door and followed him into the car, but after three failed attempts to start the car, Jongin took over, amused. Chanyeol, blushing, moved over into the passenger seat. 

“Turn on the radio,” Jongin told him as they pulled out and started the short journey to work. Chanyeol complied, finding a radio station that was actually playing music. It was a Japanese release, but a tune that he quite liked. 

_ Ain’t thinking about you! Oh woah ~  _

Chanyeol sang along quietly, his mind wandering over to Jongin once again. He watched how Jongin hummed to the song, his eyes facing the front. Jongin looked kinda hot while driving, now that Chanyeol thought about it, and suddenly he didn’t want to look at Jongin, or think about him at all. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to direct his mind to work, to the books he’d read and had to review, to his parents, to anything but Jongin-

Great. He was back to square one.

“You ok, hyung?” Jongin asked, glancing at Chanyeol.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol mumbled, looking away. God, this was going to be a long week.

By an unfortunate coincidence, Chanyeol and Jongin were late, and ended up sitting in the last two seats at the back of the room. Their manager shot them a very dirty look, but Jongin just grinned as Chanyeol bowed his head in shame. 

Chanyeol was too jumpy to concentrate. Sitting at the back of the room meant they hadn’t got very much space, and it didn’t help that Jongin, who was bouncing his leg up and down, brushed against him every single time as he idly took notes. Chanyeol swallowed hard and tried to look forward to at least pretend that he was paying attention. 

Over an hour later, when they were finally let out of the room, Jongin stretched, arching his back. “Yo I need to pee, come with?”

“Isn’t that a bit forward?” Chanyeol shot back. Jongin’s face turned bright red instantly. 

“Oh you idiot!” he exclaimed, shoving Chanyeol straight into the path of a co-worker, who shot the pair of them a dirty look. Chanyeol straightened up, apologising profusely. “Sorry. I just meant so I can keep an eye on you,” Jongin rolled his eyes. 

“I’m not gonna break the rule,” Chanyeol told him firmly. “I have to win this.”

“Not if I’m gonna win first.”

They headed to the bathroom, and Chanyeol leaned against the sink with his back to the mirrors, his arms folded over his chest as Jongin disappeared into a stall. “Yeol hyung?”

“Why are you talking to me while you’re pissing? That’s disgusting!”

“I even called you hyung!”

“What did you want?”

“What happens if neither of us break the rule?” Jongin asked. Chanyeol paused for a moment. He hadn’t thought of that. 

“Then...we both get to be the little spoon.”

“Yeah but that requires someone to be the big spoon in the first place.” Jongin flushed and Chanyeol cringed a little. “So then what?”

“Well we don’t have to spoon, then,” Chanyeol huffed. “Honestly, Jongin, you have some weird questions sometimes.”

“Wait, so we still get to cuddle?” Jongin washed his hands, staring at Chanyeol with wide eyes. “And your tie’s loose.”

“Well...I mean…” Chanyeol felt the tips of his ears go red, both from Jongin’s words and Jongin’s hands as they moved to straighten up his tie. “If...obviously there’s...well…”

“Park Chanyeol, I can hear you stuttering all the way down the corridor!” The door banged open and Baekhyun walked in, smirking. Jongin jumped backwards as if burnt. “What are you two lovebirds up to in here?”

“We’re not lovebirds,” they both protested at once, but Baekhyun just grinned as he fixed his hair in the mirror. 

“Look at yourselves, look how close you’re standing. If you’re not lovebirds being awfully domestic, and in a public bathroom, no doubt, then what are you?”

Instinctively, they both turned to glance in the mirror. “HA! YOU LOSE!”

Baekhyun jumped a little at the sudden exclamation from both boys, splashing water all over himself and the sink. “What the heck is going on?” he asked the now-surprised boys who stood, pointing at each other. “Will someone tell me why you both look like that spiderman meme?!” Baekhyun asked when neither of the two boys moved.

“We had a bet, hyung,” Jongin told Baekhyun. “I came home from work on Friday to see Chanyeol hyung standing in front of the mirror, shirtless and posing-”

Chanyeol lunged at Jongin, trying to clap his hand over Jongin’s mouth, but Baekhyun, eager to hear the story, poked Chanyeol in the ribs and Chanyeol doubled over, grimacing at the spit wiped across his palm. “So he was  _ posing _ ,” Jongin reiterated, starting to laugh, “so anyway, long story short, we made a bet. Neither of us can look in the mirror at all for an entire week. Except now we just did...so we both lost.”

“What’s the punishment?” Baekhyun asked curiously, eyeing the pair of them curiously. Chanyeol straightened up quickly as he washed his palm, shaking his wet hand dry, and shook his head at Jongin, widening his eyes frantically. 

“There’s...well…” Jongin started to go red again, and Baekhyun smirked. 

“Right. Well. I’ll leave you lovebirds to it.” He moved towards the door. “Just remember,” he added, winking exaggeratedly. “Use protection.”

“Baekhyun hyung!” Chanyeol exclaimed, going bright red. Baekhyun’s laughter echoed down the corridor as Baekhyun walked away. The door swung shut behind them, leaving Jongin and Chanyeol alone once more. 

“I’m just gonna go and start working…” Chanyeol quickly turned around, and Jongin cleared his throat. 

“I’ll see you at the car?” Jongin asked softly. Chanyeol turned back and smiled softly at Jongin, noticing the way that Jongin’s eyes darted around a little nervously. 

“See you, Jonginnie.”

The day was long and hard. Faced with the piles of work each of them had to do, the day got even harder; all Chanyeol could think about was Jongin, and all Jongin could think about was Chanyeol. But it was review week, so they had no choice but to focus. Jongin couldn’t even voice his frustrations to his friend and confidante Sehun, who was also his deskmate, though the latter did notice that something was bothering Jongin. Chanyeol, on the other hand, muttered quietly to himself throughout the entire day, to the point where his deskmate Kyungsoo crawled out from under his desk the way he liked to work and left the room for the common lounge, slamming the door pointedly shut as he left. 

It was close to seven o’clock by the time they managed to leave for work. Jongin just wanted to get home and eat and then go to bed. He was exhausted, and his eyes hurt from reading all day long. Chanyeol was already waiting for him, and seeing him brought back their encounter from the morning. Jongin groaned and slumped forwards dramatically. “Hyung, can you drive?” he whined.

“It’s my car,” Chanyeol responded, amused. He took the keys from Jongin’s outstretched hands and led the younger to the car. The ride home was quiet, but not as awkward or as uncomfortable as either of the two had thought it would be. Perhaps it was because they were resigned to their fate, Chanyeol mused as he pulled up. Jongin dragged himself out of the car, rolling his shoulders.

“Go and shower, I’ll get dinner ready,” Chanyeol told him. Jongin grinned gratefully and headed off towards the shower. Chanyeol changed quickly, deciding that he’d shower afterwards, and hurried about cooking the ramen. It wasn’t the best of dinners, but he was tired too, and he couldn’t cook anything else, anyway.  

Jongin stumbled out of his bedroom and sat on the couch just as Chanyeol entered with two steaming hot bowls. Jongin wrapped himself up in his favourite soft blanket and took the bowl with a nod of thanks. He ate mechanically, his mind wandering. “I’m going for a shower,” Chanyeol murmured to him, taking the bowl from his hands. Jongin leaned back, stretching.

“That was nice, hyung, thanks,” Jongin replied. “Wanna watch a movie?”

“You start it while I shower.” Chanyeol quickly rinsed the bowls while Jongin set up the movie and settled back, getting comfortable on the couch. By the time Chanyeol emerged from the shower, Jongin was fast asleep, his head lolled forward while the movie played in the background. Chanyeol smiled softly at the sight. Jongin looked like a child, wrapped up in his blanket. 

Gently, he leaned forward and prised the control from Jongin’s hand, turning the TV off. Jongin didn’t stir while he did so, and Chanyeol breathed out. He scooped up Jongin in his arms, carrying him into his bedroom. Jongin stayed asleep while Chanyeol gently tucked him in, snoring lightly, but when he made to leave, Jongin’s hand fisted into Chanyeol’s tank top. “Hyung...stay…” Jongin mumbled. 

“Go to sleep, Jonginnie,” Chanyeol whispered, trying to prise his top out of Jongin’s fist. 

“‘S cold, hyung, stay,” Jongin whined, turning further into Chanyeol. Chanyeol sighed. 

“Move over, you soft idiot.” Jongin shifted over as Chanyeol slipped into the bed. He shivered a little. Jongin was right; it really was cold. Jongin settled into the crook of Chanyeol’s arm, and within seconds, he was snoring again. Chanyeol leaned back and flicked off Jongin’s lamp, enshrouding the room in darkness. “Goodnight, Nini.”

Chanyeol awoke to something soft and warm tickling his nose the next day. He blinked drowsily, disoriented, but then his eyes focused on the soft and warm thing, and he realised it was Jongin’s hair. He tried to shift a little, but then he realised that Jongin was sprawled all over him. His head was on Chanyeol’s chest, his arm thrown across the elder’s waist, and their legs were tangled. “Morning, hyung,” Jongin murmured, his voice rough from sleep.

“You’re already up?” Chanyeol replied, clearing his throat. 

“I’ve been up for ages, but you were asleep. And you were comfortable. I don’t remember the last time I slept so well.”

“Me neither,” Chanyeol admitted, blushing a little. 

“Hyung?” Jongin asked after a moment, burying his head into the crook of Chanyeol’s neck. 

“Hmm?” Chanyeol replied, and Jongin shivered at the vibrations. 

“Can we...I mean...can this...be a regular thing?”

“What? Cuddling?” Chanyeol asked, his eyes widening comically. Jongin nodded against Chanyeol’s neck, hiding his face from the older. Chanyeol squeezed Jongin tightly, a wide grin across his face. 

“Thank goodness. I thought this was the only time I’d be able to cuddle you!” he exclaimed, and Jongin laughed, lifting his head up. 

“How long have you wanted to cuddle me?” he laughed at Chanyeol.

“Hmm...for like...four years? I lost count,” Chanyeol said unabashedly. “What about you?”

“Probably about the same,” Jongin replied. 

“So how about it? Cuddle buddies it is?” Chanyeol asked after a moment. 

Jongin giggled a little, and Chanyeol felt his heart do a little  _ whoosh! _ . 

“Maybe cuddling will be our always.”

“Jongin!” Silence. “Maybe it will be our always.”

_ Fin.  _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys for reading uwuuuu, this was kind of a challenge to write but I hope that I've done it justice...ish.  
> Stay tuned for more (not)quality content! Drop me a message either on here, or over on my twt @pcyjunguwudays   
> Thank youuu! :))


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